Ireland back three option starts for Leinster while Springboks star ...

The 2023/24 United Rugby Championship season continues with Round 10’s action and includes the highly anticipated clash between table-toppers Leinster and second-placed Benetton on Saturday.

The former are boosted by the return of Ireland hopeful Tommy O’Brien, who will be keen to impress as doubts linger around the fitness of Six Nations star Hugo Keenan.

Elsewhere, Springboks hooker Bongi Mbonambi returns from the injury he suffered in the 2023 World Cup final and is on the bench for the Sharks against the Stormers.

Check on the team news for all the weekend’s matches, here.

Friday 

Scarlets v Munster

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tomi Lewis, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ioan Nicholas, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Jarrod Taylor, 5 Sam Lousi (c), 4 Alex Craig, 3 Harri O’Connor, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Harry Thomas, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 20 Teddy Leatherbarrow, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Charlie Titcombe, 23 Steff Evans

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Seán O’Brien, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen (c), 6 Ruadhán Quinn, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Sullivan, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Shay McCarthy

Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Ian Kenny (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Tom Spurrier (Wales)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Zebre Parma v Edinburgh

The teams:

Zebre Parma: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Luca Morisi (c), 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Bautista Stavile, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Taina Fox-Matamua, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Scott Gregory, 23 Giovanni Licata

Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Harry Paterson, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Chris Dean, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Glen Young, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 WP Nel, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Tom Dodd, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Nathan Sweeney

Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 20:35 local (19:35 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Saturday

Lions v Bulls

The teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Hanru Sirgel, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Ossthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Erich Cronje

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Reinhardt Ludwig, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Simphiwe Matanzima, 17 Akker van der Merwe, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Mpilo Gumede

Venue: Emirates Airline Park
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Dylan November (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

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Here is the #LeinsterRugby team selected to face @BenettonRugby tomorrow in the #BKTURC Origin Round#LEIvBEN #FromTheGroundUp #GrassrootsToGreatness pic.twitter.com/dCiUfOszyc

— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) February 16, 2024

Leinster v Benetton

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Henry McErlean, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Rob Russell, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Scott Penny (c), 6 Will Connors, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Ben Brownlee

Benetton: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Henry Time-Stowers, 7 Toa Halafihi, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Eli Snyman (c), 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Filippo Drago

Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Tomas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)

Sharks v Stormers

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche (c), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Wandisile Simelane, 23 Angelo Davids

Venue: Hollywoodbets Stadium
Kick-off: 17:05 local (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Crous (South Africa)

Cardiff v Connacht

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summershill, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 3 Will Davies-King, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Arwel Robson, 23 Willis Halaholo

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Caolin Blade (c), 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Tom Farrell

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)

Glasgow Warriors v Dragons

The teams:

Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Facundo Cordero, 13 Stafford McDowall (c), 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Angus Fraser, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Ruaraidh Hart, 20 Sintu Manjezi, 21 Gregor Hiddleston, 22 Sean Kennedy, 23 Duncan Weir

Dragons: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Steff Hughes (c), 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Oli Andrew, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 George Young, 6 Sean Lonsdale, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 James Benjamin, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 Sam Scarfe, 21 Che Hope, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood

Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Michael Todd (Scotland)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

???? @URCOfficial Team News

Your Ulster side to take on @ospreys this Sunday in Swansea ???? #SUFTUM pic.twitter.com/txb9XJiSHe

— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) February 16, 2024

Sunday

Ospreys v Ulster

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 Dom Morris, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Harri Deaves, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Will Hickey, 21 Cameron Jones, 22 Alex Cuthbert, 23 Evardi Boshoff

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Mike Lowry, 13 James Hume, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jake Flannery, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 David McCann, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Harry Sheridan 3 Marty Moore, 2 John Andrew 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Luke Marshall, Ethan McIlroy

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant referees: Maickel English (Wales), Carwyn Williams (Wales)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

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